Shirt



E. S. TOMLINSON.

Shirt.

No. 226,464 Patented April 1s1sso.

Fq'gl.

IUPETERS) PNOTO-UTNOGRAPNER. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' EVERETT S. TOMLINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHIRT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 226,464, dated April13, 1880.

Application filed January 2, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EVERETT S. TOMLINSON, ofChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Shirts, which improvement is fully setforth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improvement in shirts that are made with openbacks, having for its object to strengthen them at the point where thereis the greatest strain and liability to tear, to provide a fold thatwill prevent the open part from separating and exposing whatever isbeneath, and that will at the same time form a covering and support forthe spine and protect it from cold and drafts of air.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the back of acompleted shirt, showing my improved device. Fig. 2 is a viewof myimproved folding back piece or band detached. Fig. 3 is aview of thesame partially folded.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

Hitherto the opening on the back of a shirt has been faced down itswhole length with two separate straight narrow pieces or bands of equalwidth down their whole length, which are stitched together at the forkor crotch, and when so made the shirt, when worn or being put on or off,is subjected to a severe strain at the fork, causing the stitches togive way, and then the back of the shirt is liable to tear apart. Thesebands or pieces being narrow and but partially overlapping each other,the shirt, when on the back, is liable to spread open, thus exposing theunder-garments or the person of the wearer. This exposure is doublyobjectionable: First, the view of the undergarment is very unsightly andundesirable, and the exposure of the back of the wearer, when nounder-garment is worn, is improper, uncomfortable, and indecent. It istrue that ordinarily vests and outer clothing conceal the shirt; butmany persons, when at work and on various occasions, especially in warmweather, frequently dispense with vest and coat, and in such cases theobjections stated to the open-back shirt as ordinarily made are obvious.Secondly, the spreading apart of an open-back shirt exposes the spine tocold and to drafts of air, while this part of the person more than anyother requires warmth, support, and protection.

My improved device overcomes all these imperfections and objections.

My device consists of a piece of fabric forming a continuous foldedband-facing, cut all in one piece. It is represented in detail in Figs.2 and 3, A.

A piece of fabric is cut of a lozenge shape, the top and bottom beingcut off in straight lines parallel to each other, as shown at a a. Thefabric is shaped by being cut on lines commencin g at a a a a anddiverging to points a. ct. I thus have a piece of fabric of a lozengeshape, with the upper and lower points cutoff square, as shown in Fig.1, A. This piece is then folded upon itself down its full lengthcentrally, following the dotted line a thus forming the shape shown inFig. 3. The ends are then brought together, being folded at the line or00, Fig.3,anditisreadyforattachment. Thebackof the shirtbein g splitopen the required length, one edge, preferably the right side of theopening, is placed between the two outer edges of the piece or band A,commencing at the point I), Fig. 1, of the shirt-back, close up to wherethe neck-yoke B is afterward to be placed, and the three edges of thefabric are unitedly stitched together all the way down to the fork ofthe opening. A two-ply gore-shaped bandfacing thus extends down one sideedge of the opening of a given graduating width, commencing at the topunder the yoke B and increasing in width until reaching the fork. Theband is then folded against the opposite edge of the shirt-opening, andits raw edge is stitched flat against the two edges of the band A,forming one continuous line of stitching from b to b. A portion of therear of the shirt is thus lined with a two-ply gore-shaped facing,composing unitedly three layers, and a loose loop is formed at the forkor crotch, and when the whole is closed the central portion of the shirtwhere the parts overlap is composed of five layers of fabric directlycovering the spine. Two oblique rows of stitching, Fig. 1, c c, confinethe second half of the band flat against the shirtback, the loweroblique line, 0', being located somewhat above the turn of the fork anddiverging upward, thus leaving a quantity of I from my invention.

the two-ply gore unattached and free to meet any strain when the shirtis being put on or off.

1 do not desire to limit myself to the exact inclination ofthe edges ofthe piece A, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, as it is manifest that thedivergence from a straight line can be decreased or increased to anydegree Without departing What I claim is 1. The lozenge-shaped gore-bandA, folded as described, as a facing for the sides and edges of thebackopening of a shirt, substantially as described.

2. In an open-back shirt, the band A, consistin g of a continuousgore-shaped facing eX- 15 tending the entire length of both sides of theback-opening and secured to the edges of said opening by stitching,substantially as described.

EVERETT S. TOMLINSON.

WVitnesses ISAAC J LnVINsoN, JOHN OGoNNoR.

